The Perils of the Shield Hero
by azure37410
Summary: Summoned as the Shield Hero only to be betrayed and charged with one of the worst crimes imaginable, Naofumi could only feel overwhelming despair and anger. However, that all quickly changed to unadulterated fear when he realized the truth behind why he was charged and that there was a monster after him worse than anything the Waves had to offer.
1. Prologue

**Not the sequel to "The Talk" everyone is asking for, but it's something.**

**Inspired by Happy Sugar Life, Anna from Shimoneta, and Love is War.**

**So, yeah, you know this shit is gonna get crazy.**

**XXX**

Prologue

* * *

Naofumi's first meeting with Myne would be forever ingrained into his mind.

He could remember the first time seeing her in the line-up of potential party members. He thought she was exceptionally beautiful. Probably the most beautiful girl there. She noticed him staring and smiled.

In that instant, a strong, almost primal emotion coursed through him. It came quick and faded before he could get a proper grasp on it.

But just for a single instant, it felt like every fiber of his being screamed one thing:

_GET AWAY._

He wished he had listened.

* * *

**I honest to god have no idea where I'm going with this, which is probably going to bite me in the ass later. Like a rabid plot bunny.**

**Well, enjoy and I'll hopefully find time to write more for this in between college and my full-time job. :'D**

**First chapters really short, the rest will hopefully be longer.**

**Basically the plot is that Malty is a crazy yandere and, as crazy yanderes are prompt to do, she falls in love with Naofumi during her time in his party and thus a horror story ensues as she spreads lies about him, making everyone avoid him so that he'll have to cave in and accept her help and she can, like, I dunno, puts a slave crest on him to keep him by her side forever. It's not fully planned out yet. And since he's done nothing of note (because he's the shield hero and can't level up without party members so he hasn't gone around saving villages from monsters or anything) she can just keep him in her grasp forever with no one ever wondering what happened to the "rapist". Of course, Naofumi sure as hell doesn't want that and hates her guts, so a battle of wits ensues as he valiantly tries to keep out of her grasp.**

**That's the plan, anyway, not everything's set in stone yet. That's probably gonna bite me in the ass later.**

**And, no, this is not gonna turn into a Naofumi/Myne fic. Naofumi will forever hate her guts, so no worries. Pairings are undecided right now.**


	2. The Princess and the Angel

**The next chapter for this came a lot quicker than I expected.**

**I think I'll do short chapters from time to time on this story. It'll probably lead to quicker updates than long chapters. :P**

**XXX**

Chapter 1:

The Princess and the Angel

* * *

_Once upon a time, there was a princess._

_She was a girl with hair like rubies and eyes like emeralds. With a kind smile that could warm the heart of even the most stoic of knights._

_She was adored by her parents, and even had a darling little sister._

_But the princess wasn't happy._

_Because, deep inside, she was completely empty._

_No matter how much her father doted on her, she felt no love for him._

_No matter how much her mother cared for her, she felt nothing in return._

_No matter how much her little sister smiled at her, she felt no warmth in her heart._

_She was devoid of every form of love._

_And no matter how much she tried to act normal, her family and subjects were beginning to notice._

_The princess knew something was wrong with her, that she was different. But what could she do? Perhaps she was just meant to live her days not ever feeling love, no matter how much she wished for it._

_Until..._

_One day, the princess met an angel._

_It was a boy with raven hair and eyes as green as the verdant nature around her._

_"I'm scared that I'll never love anyone," she confided in him. "I'm scared that I might be a monster. That everyone will find out and leave. Then I'll never know how to love somebody."_

_"You're not a monster," was the angel's response. "Even if you're a little strange."_

_But the princess was unconvinced, so the angel tried a different approach._

_"How about this, I'll stay by your side."_

_"You will?"_

_"I can't promise things like love, but at the very least I can keep you from being all alone."_

_"Even if it turns out that I really am a monster?"_

_"Of course! You're not a monster!"_

_"You really promise to stay by my side? Forever?"_

_"Yeah! Forever!"_

_No one had ever said something like that to the princess._

_Deep inside her until now hollow heart, warmth began to spread._

_And so, the she learned what love was._

* * *

Naofumi frowned as he turned the page and found only white space.

"Well, that was a nice story and all...but what the hell does it have to do with the Shield Hero?"

He had been in the library for a while, idly reading the book that had decided it would be fun to come crashing down on his head. It reminded him of a light novel, what with heroes from another world being summoned to save some fantasy land. It was pretty interesting, though, and a good time waster.

The heroes were pretty cool. Each of them had an entire section devoted to them. The Spear Hero, Sword Hero, Bow Hero, and Shield Hero.

The first three sections were as he expected, a sort of record of what each hero did while they saved the world.

The last section, however, felt like it was ripped off of an entirely different book. Did the Shield Hero even make an appearance? Is this some kind of weird experimental novel? A publishing mistake?

"Well, whatever. It's time to go home anyway. Maybe I can find more information online or something."

With that last thought, he looked back at the title, wanting to remember it for later, when a golden light filled his vision.

Naofumi's eyes widened. "Wh-What the-"

And that was all he had time to say before, in a flash of light, he was gone, leaving the book to fall onto the floor.

* * *

Later that same day, as closing time inched closer and closer, a tired part-time worker walked around the now empty library, putting away any books she could find left out.

"Geez, again?" The part-timer sighed as she saw yet another book sprawled onto the floor. Would it kill people to put these things where they belong? She wanted to get home sometime today.

Grabbing the book, she looked at the cover and frowned. "Is this book new? I've never seen it here before," she mumbled, flipping through it.

It was some kind of story about heroes summoned from another world. A dime a dozen when it came to plot ideas. She flipped through it in mild curiosity before finally reaching the last story.

"'The Princess and the Angel?' Does that even belong in this book?" She snorted and read through it. She secretly really liked fairy tales like this.

As she reached the final page, however, she frowned. She had been working part time in this library for a long time, and could pick up on certain things.

Like, for example, when two pages were stuck together.

"Probably from someone eating and reading at the same time," she grumbled, trying to carefully pry them apart. "Seriously, the 'no food or drinks' sign is here for a reason...!"

Finally she got them apart, sighing in relief when she saw they weren't damaged.

Reading the last part of the story, she couldn't help but frown.

"Well...that took a dark turn."

* * *

_But the princess' love was too strong. It quickly became obsession._

_And the angel was too kind, constantly helping others, giving them his attention, his friendship, his love._

_Things that should belong only to her._

_What if someone takes him away? What if she becomes alone again? What would she do with this love she had finally discovered?_

_And so, she lied._

_She spread lie after lie about the angel. The cruelest lies she could think of._

_She made everyone hate him._

_The few who didn't, she made disappear._

_And soon, the poor, confused angel was all alone._

_"Don't worry," she said. "I promise I won't leave you."_

_And when she made sure that everyone else hated him, that no one would ever look for him, she clipped her angel's wings and put him in a cage deep in her castle. In a room that only she could reach._

_"Why are you doing this?" The boy who was now nothing more than an object, his wings a bloody mess that would never fly again, asked in a broken voice._

_"Because I love you."_

_"If you really love me, let me go."_

_To which the monster princess replied,_

_"No."_

**XXX**

**Naofumi: "I fear no monster. But that...**_**thing.**_**" *Points at Myne.* "**_**Scares**_** me."**


End file.
